I've heard about some schools in Shanghai giving RMB 45,000 bonuses to their staff not to leave China next summer. Some other schools are supporting staff to go back home for holidays covering the cost of quarantine in China and the return ticket to home country.

Many thanks to everyone for your valuable comments. To play it safe, he is considering doing TeachNow or this new PGCE program available to international teachers (we have to explore this). We will look at the best options now. We hope that with the teaching license he would be more employable in Europe and/or Middle East. Thank you!

Hello, we're planning to leave China after 9-10 amazing years here, and we are looking into options in ME and Europe. However, I'm worried that my husband's credentials may not be enough, especially for ME, but possibly for good schools in Europe as well. He holds MA in Edu (Curriculum development), BA in Chinese language, IB certificate in teaching and learning (PYP), and will be completing Harvard certification program for educational leadership. He's been promoted to the Head of Curriculum position, and has experience as a PYP teacher, key teacher and head of English curriculum (7+ years in a PYP school). Not a native English speaker, but proficient (near-native),he is a linguist and very much respected in his profession. However, no BA in Education (which is commonly required in ME for primary edu) and no any country's teaching license. Would you say he's not qualified and might be struggling with finding jobs elsewhere? Thank you!

Thank you, this was very useful! I appreciate your help.

Thanks, PsyGuy!

Well, that's the thing - I already have a "real" master's degree (in Economics), so I don't need this one to be paid more, but only if it opens more doors since it's a degree in Education. If it does help with getting into better schools or some regions/countries/schools which require you to have a degree in Education, I would be willing to do so. If it doesn't give me an advantage, why doing it?

I'm an experienced Economics/Business teacher (6 years of international teaching experience, HOD, bachelor's and master's degree in Economics and US teaching license) who has completed Teach-Now certification program last year. We are considering moving from China to Europe or Emirates, and wish to build up our resumes as much as possible before we leave. There is an opportunity for me to get Master's in Education in just 16 weeks as an extension of the certification program I completed with Teach-Now. It wouldn't be that demanding, and it might make a difference when applying for my next job (or not?!).

Anyway, I heard from a friend of mine that the school he was working was questioning the master's degree he got from Teach-Now as "it's not a degree from university", while the other schools he applied for had no problem with it. I was wondering if anybody heard about any similar experience with this program. I wouldn't mind completing and paying for it if it's going to be accepted and recognized, but if that's not the case why bothering?...

Many thanks for your responses! Having all the documents ready before we leave is a great advice.

We know it's very common here in Asia to get free education for a child even from 2-3y old one, and we were hoping to get an offer from the school that provides a similar benefit. Both of us plan to work, so we do need childcare/pre-kindergarten for her (someone mentioned that there's free childcare in Germany, but that's not what I found online). However, it looks like it's not a standard package in Europe, and I'm not that optimistic about getting into 1st tier schools there. It really depends on the package we can get. I hope to get more info about salaries and benefits from SA once I become a member (now it's too early I guess), but I've been looking at the websites of some international schools in Eastern Europe and it looked like they offer this kind of benefits. Their salaries are probably lower due to lower costs of living, and these places are probably just too competitive. Another option would be going to Emirates for a couple of years, saving some more money, and then moving to Europe if there is some good job opportunity (or at least a decent pension plan).

We are a teaching couple considering moving from Shanghai to Europe with our baby, probably in two years. We simply wish to be closer to home (Eastern Europe) now that we have a baby, and find a place more suitable for her in terms of schooling and environment. I'm an A level Economics/Business teacher with 6 years of IT experience, Master's in both Economics and Education, and US teaching license, while my husband is PYP teacher and Curriculum developer, with Master's degree in Curriculum Development. We don't need working visas for Germany (not sure what our chances are there), but we are considering all European countries, including Eastern Europe where our saving potential could be higher. I've read many posts about reallocation to European countries, and I understood that we won't be able to save as much as here. However, we would avoid moving to a place where we wouldn't be able to save anything. Yes, Germany offers good pension scheme, which is also something to take into account, but would there be anything left after paying all of those taxes?... So many things on my mind at the moment, but for now let's summarize it into these two:

1. Not sure what our chances are as non-natives in international schools in Europe. Any similar experiences or non-native colleagues you had?
2. Can anyone share their own experience when moving with the family, give any suggestion?...

Your help is much appreciated!